


Golden Moments

by ophellos



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-21
Updated: 2016-10-29
Packaged: 2018-08-23 16:58:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8335357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ophellos/pseuds/ophellos
Summary: This will be a collection of Adventure Family drabbles.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Elate Week (elateweek.tumblr.com) for the prompt family.

Sam opens the fridge and rolls his eyes for the millionth time since he arrived at Nate and Elena’s house. He doesn’t know if it’s possible for two people to own as many post-it notes as these two do. Tupperware containers and baby bottles line one of the shelves, labeled with times and instructions and he’s trying to be patient and not take it personally but Elena and Nate seem to have decided that he doesn’t know how to work a microwave or that he should be cutting up Cassie’s food for her, as if a 10-month-old baby could hold her own knife.

He thinks about making a grab for one of the beers just to see how red Nate’s face can get but the two of them were supposed to leave for their mini-vacation an hour ago and he’s starting to worry that they’ll never leave. He grabs a water instead and turns back to the couple.

Nate is leaned against the kitchen counter, brows knit as he adds a last minute reminder to the notepad while Elena explains exactly how to use the medicated eczema ointment for the third time. At this moment, Sam hates Sully for being allowed to play with Cassie in the living room while he is forced to deal with the anxious parents.

“You have to apply it right after her bath,” Elena is saying. “It’s worst on her knees, so you should—”

“Concentrate on there and don’t rub it in all the way,” Sam interrupts and Elena raises her eyebrows at him. “Guys, we got this. You act like we haven’t babysat her before.”

Elena bites her lip. “Not for a whole weekend. Not even overnight.”

“Everything is going to be fine.” Sam puts his hands on Elena’s shoulders. “I promise I’ll only let Sully give her one cigar.”

Nate narrows his eyes at him and Sam chuckles and claps him on the shoulder as he passes to join Sully in the other room. Nate and Elena watch as Sam sits down on the couch next to the old man, who is holding Cassie’s hands as she wobbly stands in his lap. Sam proceeds to scoop Cassie from Sully’s arms and Sully glares at him because once again, Sam is being a baby hog.

Nate looks back at Elena with a pained look on his face and she decides to be the strong one. “Nate,” she says gently, but firmly. “I’m gonna get our bag and then we should get going if we want to catch our flight.” She squeezes his hand and waits for him to nod before disappearing down the hallway to their bedroom.

“You kids headed out?” Sully asks when Nate walks over to the couch.

Nate nods as Sam lifts Cassie up in the air, grinning up at her. “You’re tired of boring old mom and dad, aren’t you?” he asks her. “Ready to party with your much cooler uncle?” Cassie babbles happily back at him.

Nate scowls at his older brother before turning back to Sully. “No smoking around her. Smoke outside,” he says, pointing an accusatory finger at both of them. “And change your clothes afterwards.” 

Elena returns, wheeling their suitcase behind her and soon, Nate and Elena are shoving their luggage into the trunk and settling into the car, taking a second to double-check that they have their tickets. 

Nate sets his hand on the steering wheel and looks wistfully up the driveway at the front door, where Sam is holding Cassie and waving her little hand. Elena reaches over to put her hand over one of his and squeezes it. “Stop worrying,” she says. “We trust Sam and Sully.”

Nate sighs. “I’m being ridiculous.” 

Elena pats him on the cheek. “You’re being the amazing dad I knew you would be. But yes, a little bit.”

Nate nods and starts the car before turning to smile at Elena. “You packed that tiny white bathing suit I like, right?”

She returns his smile. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have no Halloween plans so I'm living vicariously through my favorite fictional family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super unbeta'd please forgive me

It shouldn’t have surprised Elena, considering what she knew about Nate’s childhood, that he had never been trick-or-treating. But it doesn’t occur to her until Nate shoots a guilty look at Elena when Cassie climbs into their car with a trembling bottom lip on October 27th and declares that everyone else in her preschool class has a costume except for her. Nate mutters to Elena from the passenger side of the car that he completely forgot about the holiday. Elena feels equally as guilty, having been so swept up in planning their next job that she also forgot that Cassie would want do something for Halloween. She decides then to drive to the nearest mall to fix the situation instead of driving home.

Her husband and daughter had spent the succeeding days bouncing off the walls with excitement. Cassie insisted on trying on her t-rex costume at least once a day and Nate spent his free time making small adjustments to his cheap generic costume in order to make it more historically accurate.

Elena dug her own costume out of an old box in the attic, a leftover from her college days. By some miracle the costume still fit and she was content to reprise her role as Link.

On the 31st, Elena slides her hands around Nate’s waist and hugs him from behind as he stands at the kitchen counter and empties a bag of chocolate into a large bowl, stubbornly trying to complete the task without removing his plastic hook hand.

“Ahoy, matey,” Nate says, turning around in her arms and raising an eyebrow at her choice in costume; he had been half-jokingly pulling for one of the skimpy pirate women costumes to match his own. “Where be the little beast?” he growls, and Elena rolls her eyes at the accent.

“Chasing Vicky around,” she answers, just as a shriek of laughter comes from the living room. “Are you ready to go?” she asks.

Nate tries to wink, which just ends up looking silly because he has an eye patch over one eye. “Always ready for some swashbuckling.”

After they place the candy bowl on their front porch and Elena snaps a few photos of Nate and Cassie to send to Sully, they set off. Cassie is a little shy at first and Elena encourages Nate to walk with her up to each front door, figuring it might be a nice experience for him since he never got to do it. Soon, Cassie is confident enough to run up the driveways by her own and Nate and Elena walk hand in hand behind her as she skip[s down the sidewalk between each house, occasionally calling out for her to wait for mommy and daddy.

It’s moments like these that Nate feels exceptionally lucky; his life has never been normal and he mostly loves that, loves that he can travel the world with his family and discover new places and artifacts, loves that he’s married to a woman who understands his need to explore and take on adventure, a woman who loves it just as much. But part of him has always been sad that he never got to experience the normal side of life growing up; never got to have a normal Christmas, or to go trick-or-treating, or to play fetch with a rowdy puppy. It’s moments like these that Nate feels lucky to have found this balance of ordinary and extraordinary.

He’s lost in his thoughts when he feels Elena’s hand grip harder onto his own and he glances down at her in question. She smiles back at him, but there’s a level of worry and she picks up speed, pulling Nate along behind her. He looks around for the danger, seeks out Cassie in front of them and is about to ask Elena what’s wrong when he spots them.

A colorfully clad group is walking towards them, lost in their own conversation and shifting to the side of the sidewalk as Nate and Elena approach them. Nate takes in the painted white faces, the red noses, the loose fitting, loudly patterned jumpsuits, and—of course—the fake blood dripping from their mouths.

“Oh god,” he whispers and Elena carefully navigates him onto the other side of her, putting herself between the group and Nate. As they pass, one of the clowns honks his nose at Nate and Nate feels himself start to tremble. Elena puts her arm around his waist and pulls him closely up against her side, fingers rubbing comforting circles against his hip. Nate glances back at the group and slowly, he begins to relax when they shrink in his vision.

“Why?” Nate groans. “Why does anyone think that’s an okay costume?”

Elena suppresses a small smile as they approach Cassie, who is bouncing in place, waiting for her parents to catch up.

“Can I be a clown next year?” Cassie asks.

“No!”


End file.
